Riders cycle toward Palisade, Colo., from Grand Junction for the second day of the Ride the Rockies on Monday, June 14, 2010.

Besides the sponsored 20-something guys who cruise up mountains at 15 miles an hour with cameras following them, I’m personally jealous of a couple of types of bikers.

Those who are retired and had all the time in the world to train for this sucker.

And those who have their own personal sherpas at every aid station. The devoted wives and husbands and children and parents who schlep along at a, frankly, very slow pace in a car and wait patiently with turkey sandwiches and cold Gatorade and Clif Bars.

The riders with sherpas aren’t waiting in the lower-caste monstrous lines to refill their water bottles with a splash of water. They aren’t eating clusters of grapes or orange slices like us mere pedestrian riders.

Sherpa riders’ food is better. Homemade even. Their water is colder. And most of all, at the finish line, they don’t have to navigate the logistical nightmare of the “bike corral” and the luggage pile and the shuttle service. Someone is smiling and ready to take their bike and usher them safely to a campsite or a motel.

Oh, so green with envy!

One such traveling sherpa is Ginger Rubey from Denver. She’s ushering “Team Roadkill” — a hodgepodge of friends and family from Manhattan, Vermont and Denver. Rubey is from Denver. She drives a silver SUV loaded with all kinds of goodies — almond clusters! Ginger I’m jealous! — and always has a couple of kids with her, whose parents are riding.

“I wanted to be part of it, but I’m not a real rider,” she said, hanging out patiently at an aid station in sunglasses and a T-shirt. “It’s an adventure and I wanted to be part of it.”

I always wondered who could do this to their family. Let them go to grandma's house for the week. The last thing I want my wife to do is drive in the middle of 2,000 cyclists, particularly on mountain roads. As a rider I'm not too excited about having unnecessary traffic either.This isn't the TDF you know!On the other hand, if they can find an alternate route and meet you at the finish, that's a good thing.

xrunner

I agree with Cwdwork. Yes, I brought my wife and kids to RTR (my first). But they went sightseeing — and stayed off the tour route for the most part — while I was riding. The organizers made it clear that personal sag/support vehicles were frowned upon, and that seemed to me like a reasonable request. But I guess it's inevitable that in every crowd certain people believe that the rules apply to everyone but them. Instead of envying and glorifying these self-centered individuals, a blog entry calling attention to their sense of entitlement would have been more appropriate.

Bridgestone Rider

I have a serious problem with personal sags and those setting up tent sites for riders not yet arrived (leaving the worst spots, far from the baggage trucks for the through riders.) These sags and family and friends also take food resources – shortages and outages at community meals, pit stops, and even beer tents; make lines longer – coffee, breakfast, bathrooms, etc.; clog highways – as mentioned above; and diminish the value to those that try to claim they Ride the Rockies, as everyone seems to get a certificate and pin – no questions asked. This was my first ride and I took the rules seriously unaware a culture of soft pedaling has developed over the years. Perhaps next year I shall try the Bike Tour Colorado and save the Sag the Rockies for the 'other' crowd.

In 2012, I asked a former colleague whether he was interested in running the Chicago Marathon. Two weeks later, he asked if I was interested in Ride the Rockies. I got a road bike, got on the tour, and have yet to regret it. This will be my third RTR.

Daniel Petty is the digital director of sports for The Denver Post. He competed in track and cross country all four years inc college, but that was six years ago. Now, he's doing Ride the Rockies for the first time.